Question: I am a 55-year-old male, 6' tall, 190 pounds, with a moderately intense cardio (elliptical) and weight training program. Unfortunately, I also suffer from atrial fibrillation from unknown causes, which arose at the same time I came down with a flu-like virus. A camera view of my arteries shows I'm in excellent shape with no blockages, arterial disease, or plaque build-up.
I take all of the following once a day: Diltiazem 90 mg, Carvedilol 12.5 mg, Digoxin 125 mcg, and Lisinopril 2.5 mg. I also take an 81 mg aspirin twice a day (the second dose is a substitute for warfarin) and 1,000 IU of vitamin D-3 twice a day.
Is it safe for me to supplement with magnesium 500 mg (twice a day), 1,000 mg of vitamin C (three times a day), 50 mg of zinc and 800 IU of vitamin E daily, 500 mg of quercetin (twice a day), 125 mg of CoQ-10 daily, and 1,000 mg of CLA daily?
Also, do you recommend L-carnitine and fish oil supplementation?
Dr. Hibberd's Answer:
You must continue with all the medications that your doctor has advised. You are doing well to follow a regular exercise routine as well. The Institute of Medicine has determined upper daily limits for nutrients that are commonly used as supplements as well as the UL — the upper limit and the highest amount you can take without risk. The RDA for vitamin C is 90 mg (UL is 2,000 mg) 11 mg for zinc (UL is 40 mg), and 22.4 IU for vitamin E (UL is 1,500 IU).
Vitamin E supplementation alone has not been shown to be of benefit. In fact, those who took over 800 units of vitamin E as a daily supplement had higher rates of stroke and heart attack than the non-supplemented group. Isolated vitamin E supplementation is no longer recommended unless under the guidance of your physician.
CoQ-10 is often needed by those on lipid medications to reduce nuisance aches, and is normally used with L-carnitine by some anti-aging professionals to enhance vascular health. Quercetin may enhance the effect of aspirin (or warfarin) and increase your risk for bleeding. Therefore, I advise that you ask your own doctor if you should consider this supplement. Fish oil supplements if taken along with aspirin may increase bleeding time, so, in your case, taking a fish oil supplement should only be on the advice of your doctor.
I recommend you review your supplements with your physician. They are not balanced, and you may have problems with your present regimen.